Game call mouth positioner and tone tuner

ABSTRACT

A game call device that helps position a user&#39;s mouth over a reed call and select the call tone desired. An elastomeric cap with a reed aperture fits snugly over a reed assembly. The cap helps the user find the right position for the mouth and lips. The rubber cap helps the user to press down on the reed and reed assembly to change the pressure on the reed and the space created by the cap&#39;s cavity. Tone or pitch holes in the cap allow the user to close the holes with the user&#39;s fingers or mouth and further adjust the tone and pitch of the call.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION (35 U.S.C. §119(e))

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from provisional patent Application No. 61/397,245, filed Jun. 7, 2010. The 61/397,245 Application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to game calls and, more specifically, to a device to help position a user's lips more correctly and to tune more precisely the tone of a game call.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Game calls utilizing reeds to produce a call are well known in the art. Attempts have been made provide adjustment to adjust the pitch and tone of the sound produced by the reed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,860 to Cook (“Cook”), discloses a “Game Call with Fine, Precise Adjustable Tone”. See Cook, Title. The game call (10) comprises a hollow tubular body (14), a subassembly made up of a tone board (18), a wedge (22), and a reed (26) held between the tone board and the wedge. A mouth piece (28) fits over the subassembly to facilitate operating the game call. To adjust the call's tone, the tone board (18) and the wedge (22) have complimentary serrations (50 and 78, respectively). The serrations allow the wedge to be adjusted forward or backward over the tone board, thereby changing the amount of the reed that is clamped between the tone board and the wedge which, in turn, adjusts the tone and pitch produced. However, the Cook device requires that the reed assembly be disassembled in order to adjust the placement of the wedge over the reed and tone board. Moreover, users like to adjust their game calls by manipulating the reed with their mouths, but Cook's device can only fix the amount of reed that is free and, therefore, decreases the user's ability to use the mouth and lips to adjust the call.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,127 to Colyer (“Colyer”), employs a tapered latex tube or sleeve over a hole in a closed end call. The sleeve operates as “an elastic, cylindrical reed member” which covers at least some of the hole. Air blown into the intake of the call exits the port and causes the sleeve to vibrate. By adjusting the position of the reed member sleeve over the port, the sound of the call can be changed. Colyer's sleeve is not designed to work in conjunction with a reed call. Moreover, the sleeve fits snugly over the call's hard, cylindrical body, so the tone or pitch of the call cannot be adjusted while the call is being operated. Colyer's call does not provide any assistance to the user in finding the right place to hold the call in the mouth.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

What is needed is a game call that can change the tone and pitch of a call in a simple and flexible way. Also needed is a game call that assists the user in finding the correct place over which to place the user's mouth and lips to produce the best call.

The present invention discloses a game call device that helps position a user's mouth and select the call tone desired. An elastomeric cap with a reed aperture fits snugly over a reed assembly. The cap helps the user find the right position for the mouth and lips. The rubber cap helps the user to press down on the reed and reed assembly to change the pressure on the reed and the space created by the cap's cavity. Tone holes in the cap allow the user to close the holes with the user's fingers or mouth and further adjust the tone and pitch of the call.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side, cut-away view of the preferred embodiment of the game call of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a three-quarter, exploded view of the reed assembly and tone tuner cap of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cap of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a three-quarter, perspective view of the tone tuner cap of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 provides a cut-away view of the preferred embodiment of game call device of the present invention. The game call 10 used here for illustration has a reed holder assembly 11 fittingly inserted into a call horn 13. A user blows into the reed assembly 11 and air passes by the reed 12 and through the reed assembly air passage 16. Passing air causes the reed 12 to vibrate and create a call. The air passes through the horn 13 and exits through the horn opening 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reed assembly 11 comprises a lower reed support structure 21 through which the reed assembly air passage 16 runs axially. A reed 12 is held on the lower structure 21 and an upper reed clamp piece 22 sandwiches the reed 12 between the lower 21 and upper 22 parts of the reed assembly 11. As noted above, the reed assembly 11 is then fittingly inserted into a call horn 13, which holds the reed assembly 11 together.

To adjust the pitch and tone of the game call produced by the reed 12, an elastomeric cap 15 is placed over the reed assembly 11. As seen in FIG. 2, the cap 15 has a rear opening 19, which forms a lip. Referring again to FIG. 1, the rear opening lip 19 of the rubber cap 15 is sized to slip over and fit snugly around the annular rear ledge 23 of the game call horn 13. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front end of the cap 15 has a reed aperture 18. When the cap 15 is placed over the reed assembly 11 and rear ledge 23 of the horn 13, the cap's reed aperture 18 is stretched around the reed assembly 11 and the reed 12. The user places his or her mouth over the front of the rubber cap 15, leaving the tone holes 17 exposed. In this way, the cap 15 helps the user adjust where to place his or her mouth in relation to the reed 12 and reed assembly 11. The user then blows over the reed 12 and through the reed air passage 16 as well as through the cap aperture 18. Game call users have difficulty controlling a vibrating reed with their lips. The elastomeric material of the cap 15 allows the user increased control over the amount of pressure that can be exerted on the reed 12, which in turn allows greater control over the pitch and tone generated. By pressing down on the rubber cap 15, the user can squash the cap 15 over portions of the reed 12, thereby providing more tone control than can be achieved by lips alone. The cavity created between the cap 15 and the reed assembly 11 can be decreased by the user's lips, thereby providing additional tone control.

The rubber tone tuning cap 15 also has one or more tone holes 17 that can be opened or closed by a user's mouth or fingers, providing additional control over the pitch and tone of the call produced. Placing fingers over the holes 17 while blowing will change the pitch to a deeper sound and decrease volume. Leaving the tone holes 17 open raises the pitch and increases volume.

The cap 15 is made of rubber or some other similarly elastic material that can stretch and deform under the pressure of a user's mouth.

The drawings and description set forth here represent only some embodiments of the invention. After considering these, skilled persons will understand that there are many ways to make a game call according to the principles disclosed. The inventor contemplates that the use of alternative structures, materials, or manufacturing techniques, which result in a game call according to the principles disclosed, will be within the scope of the invention.

I claim: 

1. A reed-type game call mouth positioner and tone tuner comprising: a cap formed of an elastomeric material, said cap having a front portion, a substantially cylindrical side wall, and an open rear portion, said side wall further having a lip at said open rear portion, said front portion and side wall forming an interior space, wherein said front portion further comprises a reed aperture sized to fit snugly around an operative mouth portion formed by a reed and a reed holder of a reed-type game call, and wherein the interior space of the cap forms an open area over the reed, and wherein at least a portion of said operative mouth portion extends through the cap's reed aperture in a direction toward a user's mouth and said cap lip is directed in a direction opposite the user's mouth, and wherein the open rear portion of the substantially cylindrical side wall and the lip fit snugly over a portion of said reed-type game call located in a direction away from said operative mouth portion and the user's mouth.
 2. The reed-type game call mouth positioner and tone tuner of claim 1 wherein the side wall of the cap further comprises at least one pitch aperture.
 3. The reed-type game call mouth positioner and tone tuner of claim 1 wherein the side wall of the cap further comprises a plurality of pitch apertures.
 4. The reed-type game call mouth positioner and tone tuner of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric material is rubber.
 5. The reed-type game call mouth positioner and tone tuner of claim 1 wherein the substantially cylindrical side wall has cap diameter and the reed aperture of the front portion of the cap is substantially circular and has a reed aperture diameter, and wherein the reed aperture diameter is approximately three-quarters or less than the diameter of the cap diameter.
 6. An improved reed-type game call comprising: a reed assembly comprising a reed support and a reed supported by said reed support, wherein at least a portion of the reed is free to vibrate, said reed support having an air entrance end and an air exit end opposite said air entrance end, said reed support further comprising a shoulder located in a direction away from said air entrance end, a cap, formed of an elastomeric material, said cap having a front portion, a side wall, and an open rear portion, said side wall further having a lip at said open rear portion, said front portion and side wall forming an interior space, wherein said front portion further comprises a front aperture sized to fit snugly around a portion of the air entrance end of the reed support, and wherein the interior space of the cap forms an open area over the air entrance end of the reed support, and wherein the portion of air entrance end of the reed support extends through the front aperture, and wherein the lip of the open rear portion of the cap fits snugly on the shoulder of the reed support.
 7. The improved reed-type game call of claim 6 wherein the side wall of the cap further comprises at least one pitch aperture.
 8. The improved reed-type game call of claim 8 wherein the at least one pitch aperture can be positioned over the open area formed by the interior space of the cap over the air entrance end of the reed support.
 9. The improved reed-type game call of claim 6 wherein the elastomeric material is rubber.
 10. The improved reed-type game call of claim 6 further comprising a game call horn communicating with the air exit end of the reed support.
 12. A method for positioning a user's mouth and adjusting the tone of a game call comprising the steps of: providing a game call comprising a mouth piece, said mouth piece having an air entrance end, said game call further comprising a cap, said cap being formed of an elastomeric material, said cap comprising a front portion, a side wall, and an open rear portion, said front portion and side wall forming an interior space, wherein said front portion further comprises a mouth piece aperture sized to fit around a portion of the air entrance end of the mouth piece, and wherein the interior space of the cap forms an open area over the air entrance end of the mouth piece, and wherein the portion of the air entrance end of the mouth piece extends through the mouth piece aperture, and wherein the open rear portion of the cap is connected to a portion of the mouth piece located in a direction away from the air entrance end, positioning a user's mouth over the elastomeric cap, blowing air from the user's mouth through the mouth piece aperture of the cap and into the air entrance of the game call, squeezing the elastomeric cap to adjust a tone of a call produced by the game call.
 13. The method for positioning a user's mouth and adjusting the tone of a game call of claim 12: wherein the cap further comprises at least one pitch aperture in the side wall of the cap, and wherein the at least one pitch aperture can be positioned over the open area formed by the interior space of the cap over the air entrance end of the mouth piece, and placing a finger of the user over the at least one pitch aperture and further adjusting the tone of the call produced by the game call.
 14. The method for positioning a user's mouth and adjusting the tone of a game call of claim 12: wherein the cap further comprises a plurality of pitch apertures in the side wall of the cap, and wherein the plurality of pitch apertures can be positioned over the open area formed by the interior space of the cap over the air entrance end of the mouth piece, and placing a finger of the user over at least one of the plurality of pitch apertures to further adjust the tone of the call produced by the game call. 